[jhockley]

I'm looking for some IEMs that block out some background noise but not all.
 
I've only tried
Apple earpods -Bad sound, barely noticeable noise isolation.
Sony MH1C - Good Sound, too much isolation.
 
I want good sound but sound isolation somewhere in the middle but i know this can be quite subjective.
 
My research has led me to this understanding. Most IEMS seem to offer 26db of noise cancellation. As this isn't linear i guess this figure is taken at 1khz which is kind of in the middle of our hearing. 26db seems to be the result of what happens when an airtight seal is formed around the ear canal.
 
I would be looking at something like 15db which would indicate less of a seal around the ear canal. Maybe i could put holes in my sony mhc1s but im sure this would alter the frequency response due to baffling. 
 
Anyway that might just be waffle. So i'm looking for good sound IEMS with around 15db of noise cancellation.
Lets say a budget of £100
 
Do such things exist?

 

[jhockley]

Just bumping this because i updated the title. Last title wasn't very descriptive.

 

[bobby12]

you could try the smaller tips but you would get poor SQ

they werent made to be used like that so it's either get a good seal and get the full sound quality or a bad seal and your sound quality suffers

it even happens with CIEMs if you decide to get those vent ports for less isolation.

 

[jhockley]

Thanks Bobby.
 
I've done some research and produced a graph that compares the isolation of some IEMS under $100.
I wish i could post the graph here but it looks like the Xiaomi Piston V2s or Philips Fidelio S1's have around 10-15db less isolation than the MH1-cs.
All the headphones were apparently tested the same way so hopefully sound quality won't be 10-15db worse off (what ever that means).
 
It would be good to test them because as you say a lot is due to the way they fit

 

[bobby12]

Just remember the thing that goes inside your ears are the sleeves/tips and not the IEMs themselves.

Different tips offer different isolation, fit and sometimes even sound quality.

 

[jhockley]

Here's a graph using data from Inner Fidelity. It shows 6 makes of headphones under $100 and how their isolation compares. The Xiaomi Pistons on paper appear to have the right characteristics for me. They are quite rare in the UK so i'm going to have to hunt for a genuine pair.